ELTMentor – How to encourage good language learning
ELTMentor News – How to encourage your students to be good language learners
In this edition:
- Keeping Momentum
- The August CPD workshop – a blog post
- A short silence and the next things coming up
- How to encourage your students to be good language learners
We’re at half-term and I’m sure everybody is in need of this break. The bright-eyed, bushy-tailed feelings of early September soon go as we deal with the nitty-gritty and day-in, day-out demands of our teaching and it’s easy to get dragged down into the doldrums and start to feel overwhelmed.
Feeling like this?
It’s important also to realise when this is happening so that we can ‘rise above it’ and see it as a period where we need to stop and reflect, (that’s why there are half-terms) rest and recuperate. For those who work in organisations where the luxury of half-terms is not provided you need to find other ways to take stock and have some time away from the classroom.
I find one great way of revitalising is to get some training. This may simply be an online webinar where you can sit back and let everything wash over you (preferably with a pen and paper to hand). The beauty of online webinars is that you really don’t have to socialise if you don’t want to – you can simply concentrate on the content with a cup of coffee (or something stronger!) and take away from it what is of value to you. I usually find these sessions not only relaxing but also energising and come away with new ideas and renewed interest in what I am doing.
So if you can’t have a week away somewhere sunny and hot then look out for any training webinars which can transport you away from your work and into a space where you can relax but also enrich yourself.
Here are some you might like to check out.
You will probably need to register but this is free and there are other resources also to access.
Teacher Workshop in August.
Sophia, one of the August workshop participants wrote a blog post about her experience and I just wanted to share this with you all.
http://sophiamavridi.edublogs.org/2012/10/16/a-week-of-professional-development-and-much-more/
What’s happening next?
Sorry to be so late with this month’s newsletter – the past month or two have been quite a roller-coaster.
It has also been a time for technical problems – I hope you have seen the new-look Gapfillers site. We have, however had some glitches in the move to the new version which has caused us all a lot of headaches (and you probably too!). We are slowly sorting these out and hope to have everything running as before very soon.
We were scheduled to have our regular monthly webinar last Monday at 12.00. Unfortunately, although I was there and had my slides and everything ready there was a problem with the microphone and I couldn’t get it to work. I think I need to find a technology-free zone to hide in for a while!
So they are checking it and as soon as we have found out what the problem is I’ll reschedule this session. Sorry about this – it could be that I just record it like the pronunciation one and give you the link.
I’ll get everything on to the site and let you have the links very soon.
How to encourage your students to be good language learners
My wonderful teacher workshop group
I have been teaching quite a few students over the summer and was interested to see how they each approached the process of language learning. All of them worked hard and made progress and were delightful to teach and work with but analysing their preparedness and study methods gave me some insights into what sort of things seem to work well.
Not what we really want to see!
Learning styles
As teachers and learners we know that different people have different preferences and styles when it comes to studying. I see, as a teacher, where I need to adapt my choice of material or style to suit different students. Things which work fantastically well with one student might fall completely flat with another. We read much about learning styles and it is true that we learn differently but I feel it is also true that not all learning is necessarily fun and exciting and it is important to take the rough with the smooth. In terms of language in particular, a certain amount has to be repetitive and recycling, revisiting and repeating is very important. Regular practice is also important. Some tried and tested methods do work and it is a case of finding the most suitable way of utilising these. Whether pen and paper, iPhone or laptop, our preferred tool is unimportant as long as students get the results!
Student behaviour
Some students are methodical and very organised. They bring a book, stationery, dictionary etc with the to the lessons and they organise their work. Some arrange their book/folder according to the different topics (grammar, reading, vocabulary etc..) and sometimes even colour-code everything for ease of revision. They review the day’s work and come to the next lesson prepared with questions.
Being well-prepared is half the battle
Others prefer a more ‘learn by osmosis’ approach they like to absorb the language by being immersed in it through the lesson. They don’t record a great deal (perhaps anything they haven’t heard before) and react in a more emotional way with the language. They may not be so systematic in their learning but they like to extend their exposure to language and will be likely to watch TV or read a newspaper or magazine often bringing elements of this experience to the lesson.
Many students have a half and half approach. The dangers of being only type one is that you may be restricting yourself to a narrow range of language and those taking the second path may be exposed to too much for it to be absorbed. However all approaches are legitimate and in the end it is a matter of ‘horses for courses’. However, whatever the learning style, I do think it is worth considering using some tried and tested methods to enhance and secure the learning experience
So, from my ‘straw poll’ over this summer, I have extracted 10 things which I observed that I feel all language learners could use to improve their study
- Do make sure students have something to record new items of language (notebook, netbook etc) – it may seem odd but some students do need to be reminded of this!
- Don’t allow them to rely solely on memory – it’s mostly forgotten as soon as they get outside the door.
- Insist they all have access to an English/English dictionary (they get one on their phone and access it wherever they are).
- Don’t let them miss the opportunity to pick up new words and check their meaning – then record it for future use – using helps to remember.
- Encourage them to review the day’s lesson, make a note of anything they are not sure about ready to ask you at the next lesson.
- Set aside times when students can speak to you to go over things or explain things again – it’s an opportunity to make sure everything is clear before moving on. This could be a certain class or even better some sort of individual tutorial time (10 minutes each?)
- Encourage students to watch TV/films etc.. in English if they have the chance. It’s a good way to engage with the culture and make sure they are immersing themselves in the language – TV/computer is an invaluable language resource. Set them a weekend homework to watch a movie and then they can present it in class.
- Explain that they don’t have to understand everything. They should relax and enjoy the experience, a good overview of the conversation or TV programme might be enough (then, as in No 6, give time to check this).
- Try getting them to write a learner diary – (this can be physical or a blog or wiki) a few lines after each day’s experience will not only give them a lovely record of your course, but it is also an interesting and personal way to make a record of their progress day by day. This can be useful for language recycling and sharing with you and also other classmates (especially if you use a digital format).
- Arrange it so that they really enjoy the learning experience – something enjoyable in which students are absorbed will be both more successful and more valuable to them.
Thank you to all my students this year who gave me the chance to observe their learning and the opportunity to pass some of these ideas on to you.
Need help with anything?
If anybody needs help with anything just post in the forum, or on twitter or email me or send a message in Gapfillers. I am really pleased that you are using the forum – let’s get more things posted to discuss.
Don’t forget to put any suggestions in the forum, this is your space to share ideas or experiences and to ask questions.
You can always email me too berni.wall@language-tuition.co.uk about anything that you are concerned about or if you want to ask a question.
Until next time
Berni